1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to windshield wipers for vehicles and, more particularly, to a windshield wiper having integrated heat and light sources within actuator arm assembly for aiding in use under conditions of dark, ice and snow buildup.
2. Description of the Related Art
Many vehicles include windshield wipers to aid with visibility during inclement weather. Whether on motor vehicles, planes, or boats, these wipers and their windshields are subject to ice and snow buildup in cold weather conditions. Such buildups can restrict vision and increase safety risks.
In the related art, many methods of vehicle windshield deicing are known. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,467,522, issued in the name of Gold, a windshield wiper deicing windshield and method of constructing same is disclosed in which glass panels having a resistive conductive coating is utilized to complete an electrical circuit which causes deicing through resistive heating.
Another problem associated with icing of windshields occurs from the freezing of the wiper to the vehicle rest zone. One attempt to eliminate such adhering is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,173,586, issued in the name of Gold, in which an electric heating attachment for deicing the wiper rest zone of a vehicle windshield is described,
Numerous attempts have been made to correct for the foregoing problems by heating the entire wiper assembly. Examples appear in U.S. Pat. No. 4,497,083, issued in the name of Nielsen, Jr. et al., in U.S. Pat. No. 3,619,556, issued in the name of Deibel et al., and in U.S. Pat. No. 3,408,678, issued in the name of Linker.
Although such devices as disclosed have proven effective, none have proven to be commercially successful due to many factors, such as cost and awkwardness of incorporating separate heating elements, or the inability to adapt to existing wiper designs. Further, although the aesthetics of such designs are necessarily out of the ordinary, none so far have been able to generate either an aesthetic pleasantness, or sufficient uniqueness to encourage consumers to tolerate such visually unaccustomed devices. Consequently, a need has been felt for providing an improved but less complex mechanism and method which overcomes such deficiencies.